Dive Brief:
- The Canada Green Building Council is developing a free low-carbon skills training program to equip professionals with knowledge and skills in the sector.
- The program will provide building owners and operators, architects, engineers, construction workers and commercial real estate professionals with common language and understanding of low-carbon strategies and solutions.
- The program aims to address the sharp demand for low-carbon retrofits and construction in the real estate and building operations sector, with the CAGBC estimating that government green building investments will create almost 1.5 million jobs by 2030.
Dive Insight:
Low-carbon construction and building retrofits are slated to be key pieces of Canada’s carbon reduction targets, the building council said in a Sept. 26 release. Those targets include slashing emissions 40% below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Investments from the Canadian government will expand the country’s green building economy by 1.47 million jobs and $150 billion in GDP by 2030, according to a June 2022 study conducted by CAGBC and Delphi Group. Another series of CAGBC workforce studies conducted in 2019 and 2020 found that technical skills alone will not bridge the skills gap. Thus, it’s working to establish a deeper understanding of the role of carbon in building design, construction and operation to ensure stronger collaboration and communication across project teams and trades.
As a result, the sector needs to upskill workers with low-carbon knowledge and training to keep up with demand, the building council said. To that end, CAGBC is partnering with the Canadian Construction Association, Climate Risk Institute, Royal Architecture Institute of Canada, Building Owners and Managers Association and the Real Property Association of Canada to provide a curriculum that covers the fundamental principles of low-carbon buildings.
“A well-trained workforce is key to unlocking the green economy and supporting the growth of the construction industry,” Randy Boissonnault, minister of employment, workforce development and official languages of Canada, said in the release. “Through our Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, the Canada Green Building Council will provide thousands of workers with state-of-the-art training on sustainable building practices. This is a win for Canadian workers.”
The Low Carbon Training Foundations Course seeks to introduce professionals across all industries to certain key concepts through five modules.
The program will also have sector-specific training courses, which will focus on “distinct day-to-day responsibilities” for their respective professionals. These include:
- The Low Carbon Education Training Workshop for Architecture Professionals
- The Low Carbon Fundamentals Course tailored for Building Owners and Real Estate Professionals
- Pathway to Net Zero: Decarbonization for Building Operators
- The Low Carbon Training Program for Construction Professionals
- Low Carbon Training for Engineering Professionals
These courses will be offered through October and November, with specific dates and times available on the Low Carbon Training Program’s website.
